North Korea Fires 10 Ballistic Missiles as Trump Cuts 11-Day Drills

Q: What ultimate concession is Pyongyang waiting for while using missile barrages to test the scaled-back allied military commitment?

Pyongyang appears to be waiting for Washington’s de facto acceptance of North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, not just smaller U.S.-South Korea drills. The reporting and expert commentary point in the same direction. Kim Yo Jong dismissed the reduced Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise as meaningless, while keeping the door open by saying relations between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump remain “excellent.” That suggests North Korea sees the drill cutback as only a minor gesture and is holding out for a much bigger political concession before returning to serious talks. That larger concession is the U.S. dropping denuclearization as the basic condition for diplomacy and effectively recognizing North Korea’s nuclear status. Kim has repeatedly signaled that he will not reenter negotiations if they are framed around unilateral disarmament. Analysts cited in the coverage say Pyongyang now believes its nuclear arsenal is permanent and wants talks on that basis. Once that recognition is achieved, North Korea would likely press for follow-on gains: broad sanctions relief, a peace arrangement to formally end the Korean War, and eventually pressure to reduce or remove the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea. The missile launches fit that strategy: they test whether scaled-back allied exercises signal a weakening U.S. commitment and whether more pressure can extract larger concessions without North Korea giving up its weapons.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 20

About 10 short-range ballistic missiles were launched from North Korea’s capital region toward eastern waters at around 0800 GMT, prompting South Korea’s security council to convene an emergency meeting.
The launch came a day after Pyongyang dismissed Donald Trump’s order to substantially reduce the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises with South Korea as not worthy of comment.
Kim Yo-jong said the drills remained provocative despite the cutback, while also saying her brother’s personal ties with Trump were “still excellent” and signaling Pyongyang may want bigger concessions before talks.
South Korea said it had strengthened surveillance and was coordinating with the United States and Japan; Seoul again urged the North to stop ballistic missile launches banned under UN Security Council resolutions.